O'Doherty was a key adviser to Rawlings-Blake and helped craft the administration's agenda, including the goal of growing Baltimore by 10,000 families, an increase in the bottle tax to help fund school construction and cuts to the property tax.

A fierce defender of the mayor's policies, O'Doherty sometimes clashed with members of the news media and elected officials.

"In politics you have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies," said City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, who has sparred with O'Doherty in the past. "We didn't see eye to eye on some things. The administration didn't like it that I spoke out about some issues, but he was just doing his job. I wish him the best."

In a statement, Rawlings-Blake said O'Doherty has been a "diligent public servant."

“He’s a very talented, hardworking individual," said Deputy Mayor Robert Maloney. "The entire time I worked with him, he never lost focus of supporting the mayor’s efforts and doing everything he could to make the people around him better.”

Maryland's Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a cap on monetary awards in lawsuits against local governments, turning back an effort to collect $11.5 million awarded to the family of a Prince George's County man fatally shot by police.